Not What She Seems (21 page)

“So when
do you go out?” he asked her.

“Only when I have to,” she replied. “Oh- I bet you’ve heard about the whole
Challenge between Elora and me?” Tucker nodded. “Well, I’m working on that, and there will be times I will need to go out without you.”

“Is that okay with Lilith?”

“Sure,” she lied. Lilith didn’t know about Mason and she wanted to keep it that way. Luckily Tucker seemed very disinterested in her personal life. He wasn’t about to question anything if she convinced him that the boss was fine with it. “Oh, I’ll be away this weekend, so you can go do, well, whatever it is you do.”

“I’ll probably hunt whil
e you’re away,” Tucker replied.

She
found it was easy to have him around, almost like living by herself again. He stayed out of her way and spent most of his time in the guest bedroom. Sometimes she almost forgot he was even there.

Keith was c
onstantly on her mind, but she wouldn’t allow herself to contact him. Nothing good could come of it, she figured. As much as she missed him, it was good to know that it had ended on her terms this time around, and she vowed there wouldn’t be another time. At least she had pulled out before the situation between them had gotten messier.

Mason was a good dist
raction. He called her each day, whenever he had a few spare moments. Sylvia found herself looking forward to his calls more and more as the week progressed. Their conversations broke up the monotony of being apartment-bound. Tucker wasn’t much for conversation, and she didn’t have any reason to leave the apartment as Lilith had not called for her services, so his calls became the bright spots in her day.

She spent Friday night packing for her weekend getaway to New Hampshire with Mason. The trip was
coming up just in time as her inner Hunger was demanding to be fed. She hadn’t wanted to go out hunting, even with Tucker to keep her safe. If she could just make it until Saturday morning she could feed off of Mason. If she could wait that long to feed.

Somehow
she managed to ignore the primal need screaming within her and Mason picked her up early Saturday morning in his BMW X5.

“Hi,” he kissed her light
ly before putting her bags in the back of the SUV. She felt small shudders of pleasure run through her as she received some of his energy. That would tamp down her Hunger, at least temporarily.

“Are you planning to move in
to Marjory’s or are we just going for the weekend?” he teased her when he saw how much she had packed for one overnight trip.

“Sorry,” she
shrugged sheepishly, “I guess I went a little overboard with the whole packing thing.”

“It’s no big deal. Come on, let’s get on the road, I c
an’t wait to get there.” His good attitude was infectious and she found herself increasingly excited about arriving in Peterborough as each mile passed. It was a pleasant ride on Route 2, and the fall foliage became more spectacular the farther out from the city they went. Sylvia felt her stress melt away as they traveled. A weekend out of the city was just what she needed to recharge herself. No Hunter, no Elora, no Keith. Nothing but a weekend away with Mason.

He seemed to be in excellent spirits himself. They chatted as he drove, and he finally told her about his inheritance from his
Grandfather, though he didn’t specify how much money had been left to him. She feigned surprise at this news and took it as a good sign he found her to be trustworthy. It would be far easier to get him into bed if he was comfortable sharing intimate details of his life with her.

A few hours later they arrived in Peterborough after turning off the highway and following a
slew of back roads. The little town enchanted Sylvia with its quaint shops and small town New England flavor. She could see instantly why Marjory Bennett had chosen it for her second home.

“There’s Mt.
Monadnock,” Mason pointed out as they drove down a long dirt road outside of the center of town. Sylvia stared at the looming mountain before her, decked out in its fall colors.

“Can we hike it?”

“Yes, of course, but it’ll have to wait until next time. It’ll require more time than we’ll have today if we’re going to ride.” Sylvia grinned. She had been so busy checking out the scenery, she’d forgotten they would be horseback riding that weekend.

Finally they arrived at
Majory’s place. Her ‘country house’, as she had referred to it, was actually a sprawling estate with expansive manicured grounds, a huge stone faced mansion, a swimming pool, a tennis court and pasture after pasture of horses.

“It’s lovely,” Sylvia gasped.

“We’re only in the driveway, Sylvia, save some excitement for the rest of it,” Mason teased her.

As they got out of the car a butler came to bring their bags inside for them. Marjory met them at the entryway with a hug and kiss on the cheek for each of them.

“I’m so glad you two have come up here,” she announced. “I’m sorry Edward isn’t here as well, he’s in Tokyo on business for the week. Perhaps you can meet him next time, Sylvia. Where shall I have Gerome put your things? Mason, would you like the guest house, or shall we situate Sylvia there?”

Sylvia held her breath as she waited for
his response. They had agreed to share the guest house together, but what if that was unacceptable to Marjory? She seemed certain they would stay separately and Sylvia suddenly worried what she might think if they roomed together for the night. She didn’t actually care about Marjory’s opinion on sharing a room, but she didn’t wish to offend her.

“Actually, Marjory, if you don’t mind, we’ll both
stay in the guest house,” he answered her smoothly.

“Very well then.
Gerome, please take everything to the guest house.” If Marjory found it improper they would be sharing the guest house she didn’t let on. Sylvia breathed a silent sigh of relief.

“Well then, you two must be famished after coming all this way. Come on, we’ll have
a bite to eat in the sun room.”

The sun room was aptly named, with huge picture win
dows on three sides, one offering a direct view of Mt. Monadnock, and numerous skylights. A server brought them a vast array of sandwiches and finger foods to enjoy. As they ate, Marjory told them all about her stables and the various horses she owned. Some were merely pleasure horses for trail riding around the scenic area, some were thoroughbred champions purchased for breeding, and some were Olympic-level jumpers.

“Mason tells me you’ve r
idden before?” Marjory asked Sylvia.

“Yes, though not in a while,”
she confirmed.

“Well, I’ll have Stanley select your mounts, he’s the barn manager. Do you wish to ride after
we’ve finished here?”

Sylvia caught Mason’s eye to see what he thought and he smiled at her encouragingly. “Yes, if that’s okay with you. Will you come with us?” She hoped the answer was no. As much as she liked Marjory, she was really looking forward to some time alone with Mason. It was hard to be romantic with a third wheel tagging along.

“No, you go on.” She dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand. “I’m not in the mood to ride today. You two have fun without me; I’ll stay here.”

After lunch Marjory showed them to the guest house. It was more like a house of its own, with two stories, four bedrooms, a media room and a game room. Sylvia had been hoping it was a small guest house, with one bedroom, one bed. Now that they had four bedrooms to choose from
, she wasn’t confident that Mason would invite her into his. No matter- she had been seducing men for a long time, and despite the fact that he was an Innocent there had to be a way to coax him into sharing a bed together. Even if they didn’t have sex, sharing a bed was a step closer to her ultimate goal. She would find a way to make it happen, she had to.

Marjory left them to change for thei
r ride and Mason grabbed his bag and ducked into the bathroom. “Pick any room you like,” he called to Sylvia, “I’ll change in here.”

She
chose the largest bedroom, one with stunning views of the forest lining the property and the small stream that ran on the edge of it. It had a four poster mahogany King sized bed and a fireplace with a fresh stack of firewood beside it. Maybe he could start a fire for them this evening, to lend a romantic feel to the room. She had the perfect set up for a special night in the bedroom, now all she needed was the man himself. It wasn’t evening yet; she had time to work on it.

He
was waiting for her in the front entryway when she made her way downstairs. She had thrown on a faded pair of jeans and a warm sweater in tones that brought out her eyes. Her hair was done up in a bun on top of her head, and she could see his approval in the look he gave her.

“Ready?” He
extended his hand to her and she took it, pulling him into a sultry kiss.

“We’ll never make our ride this afternoon if you keep that up,” Mason teased when he finally pulled away from their kiss.

“That’s what I was kind of hoping,” she said boldly.

“Come on, there will be plenty of time for that tonight,” Mason reassured her as he led her out the door.
Sylvia went along without a fuss, temporarily satiated from the small bit of energy she had just taken from him. She would have preferred they spent the afternoon in bed, but if that wasn’t going to happen, horseback riding was the next best thing.

Chapter 21

The barn manager had done a good job selecting their mounts for their trail ride. For Mason h
e selected a fiery roan mare that needed a firm rider with experience, which Mason had from his time playing Polo. As Sylvia had not ridden in years he picked out a softer, more compliant older chestnut mare that wasn’t likely to give her any trouble.

“You two take your time, bring them on back when you’re ready, I’ll
untack them,” he instructed them.

They thanked him and
once they were both up on their mounts, Mason led the way away from the barn towards a path that led into the forest. They talked very little at first as they were both enjoying the quiet of the setting too much to spoil it by speaking. The tranquility was a welcome change for them both. Sylvia loved the country, but being the creature she was required that she live in a populated area where prey was more readily available. For just one moment she caught herself daydreaming about living on a horse farm out in the country, somewhere like this, where nature was all around her instead of concrete and cars. It would never happen because places like this didn’t have enough men to support her need to feed. But it was still fun to dream.

The horses were steady footed as they wound their way
down the trail through the forest. The colors of fall were all around them and it felt magical, riding through the hushed woods. Eventually the trail widened enough for them to ride side by side so Mason slowed his horse until Sylvia was riding next to him.

“Can I ask you something? I
mean, something kind of personal?”

“Of course, please, go ahead.” Sylvia replied, trying not to sound as nervous as she felt.
She couldn’t imagine what he would possibly want to know.

“Well
, I was just wondering… how come you’re not married yet, or at least in a steady relationship? I can’t believe no one’s snapped you up yet. Do you not want to get married, have children someday, do the whole family thing?”

Sylvia laughed out loud.
Of all of the things she imagined he would ask her, that wasn’t it. “I guess I’ve never found the right man yet, so I haven’t thought too much about the whole marriage and kids thing.” Succubi didn’t marry, and weren’t physically able to produce children, so neither was even a concern for her, but she couldn’t tell him that so she told him the closest thing to the truth that she could. “I could ask you the same, you know,” she added pointedly.

“I’d like a family someday, with the right woman, but I don’t want to ‘settle’ for anyone just to be able to say I
got married and had kids, as much as I’d like to.” He paused, hesitant to continue. “I was almost married once.”

His admission
surprised her. “What happened?” she asked softly.

Mason sighed. “She was killed, when we were working as missionaries in Africa. Rebels invaded the town we were in, and she was shot accidentally in the chaos. There was no hospital for hundreds of miles, and I did the best I could with what I had on ha
nd, but I still lost her.” He sounded bitter as he spoke.

“Mason, I’m so sorry.” Suddenly
she understood why this very eligible bachelor had not pursued a relationship in ten years and she was a bit flattered he had chosen her to try again. No human woman had caught his interest, no other succubi had managed to bed him, yet he was interested in her.

“
Me too, but life goes on, doesn’t it?” He smiled wanly at her. “I didn’t think I’d ever be able to have a relationship with a woman ever again, yet here we are. There’s something about you, Sylvia, something that drew me in as soon as we met.” She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. Physical intimacy was normal to her, but emotional intimacy with one of her prey was entirely new to her. Guilt began gnawing at her as she realized he was at risk of getting emotionally hurt when the Challenge was through and she had no need of him anymore. She had always been aware of it in a detached sort of way, but hearing what he was putting on the line emotionally to be involved with her made it more real. They had known each other such a short time, but already he had become the focus of her days, and it saddened her to imagine the time when she was done with him. He was a good man.